Hong Kong in Lego form? Everything about these photos is awesome

By Karla Cripps and Hiufu Wong, CNN

Updated 0300 GMT (1100 HKT) April 14, 2014

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Photos:Legography

Perfect pair: Lego and nostalgia – Legography creator Ric Tse's "Sweet Memories" features a Lego van covered in signs and menus from a photo he took of an actual Hong Kong Mister Softee truck. Locals have a soft spot for these moving ice cream purveyors, which have been around since the 1970s.

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Photos:Legography

Lego love – Tse says of all his 30 Lego-themed works, "Under Cover" was the most memorable to create. "As I took the shot at Tsim Sha Tsui promenade, I set the scene and my camera on the floor and hunched over the ground, thus I attracted a lot of attention," he recalls.

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Photos:Legography

Rubber duck fever – Tse recreated the crowds that flocked to the famed Big Yellow Duck in Hong Kong last year. He even threw in a few of the Falun Dafa worshippers -- the practice is banned in China -- who often set up small demonstrations in Hong Kong.

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Horseplay – In "Victory!" Tse commemorates the Chairman's Sprint Prize, an annual horse race at Hong Kong's Sha Tin Racecourse. The freelance photographer says he has about 80 different Lego "minifigures" he uses in his work.

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Tse's 'biggest challenge' – Tse's "June Fourth Vigil" is a recreation of Hong Kong's annual candlelight ceremony for those killed at Tiananmen Square in 1989. "I wanted to create the special candlelight vigil effects, so I bought some tiny LED light bulbs. It was also a lot of work ... I had to find ways to hide the wires."

Story highlights

Tse's images inspired by everyday Hong Kong scenes, such as the iconic skyline and luxury shoppers

Legography exhibition now on at Hong Kong's Picture This gallery

Maybe we've seen "The LEGO Movie" too many times.

But we couldn't help breaking into an enthusiastic rendition of "Everything is Awesome" when we came across these Hong Kong-themed Lego photos by 36-year-old photographer Ric Tse.

Made by combining Lego minifigures, props and images, Tse's "Legography" series captures the spirit of Hong Kong in toy form, whether it's Louis Vuitton-toting shoppers, a Chinese lion dance or punters checking out the betting prospects at the horse track.

Some come with a side of social commentary that perhaps only a local would recognize, such as "Rubber Duck Fever" or "June Fourth Vigil," both featured in the above gallery.

Tse, a freelance photographer with a full-time gig in property management, says inspiration usually strikes when he's out shooting photos of daily life in Hong Kong.

"During the shoot, whenever I capture something interesting I think, 'Would it work with Lego?' If that's a yes, I'll just do it."

Turns out, Tse wasn't even a big Lego fan when he started out.

"It was during an annual cleanup that my girlfriend, now wife, found an old box of Lego," says Tse, who produced his first Lego-based photograph in 2010.

"I had never played with Lego bricks before and found it interesting. I held a tiny figure and thought, if I could use this in my photography it would be interesting as well. That's where the concept came from.

Tse's Legography photos are currently on display at the city's Picture This gallery.

Founder Christopher Bailey says it was an easy decision to exhibit the pics, as the venue seeks to promote young Hong Kong photographers who may otherwise struggle to find outlets for their work.

"We feel that Ric is very clever and insightful and captures in a very unusual and creative way the essential spirit of Hong Kong," says Bailey.

In "Victory!" Tse commemorates the annual Chairman's Sprint Prize.

"He is of that 1980s generation who are concerned about the direction Hong Kong is taking and often feel unable to make their voices heard properly.

"Ric's photography and Legography is his very creative outlet to show his views."

The response to Legography has been huge, he adds.

"At the recent Affordable Art Fair, held last month, we had a crowd around his photos all weekend and sold them extremely successfully. We were pleased that the buyer profile was so broad, from kids to retirees and of all nationalities."

Bailey says the gallery doesn't limit how long a photographer's work is on display so there are no plans to remove Ric's exhibition any time soon, though it's a popular series and prints are selling fast.

"They are limited editions and we anticipate that some of them will sell out quite quickly. One image has already sold over 20 pieces from an edition of 30."